keel.
A large beam along the underside of a ship’s hull from bow to stern.
Meaning & usage
A large beam along the underside of a ship’s hull from bow to stern.
A rigid, flat piece of material anchored to the lowest part of the hull of a ship to give it greater control and stability.
In a dirigible, a construction similar in form and use to a ship's keel; in an aeroplane, a fin or fixed surface employed to increase stability and to hold the machine to its course.
The rigid bottom part of something else, especially an iceberg.
A type of flat-bottomed boat.
The periphery of a whorl extended to form a more or less flattened plate; a prominent spiral ridge.
The two lowest petals of the corolla of a papilionaceous flower, united and enclosing the stamens and pistil; a carina.
The extension of a bird's sternum to which pectoral muscles attach.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English kele, from Old Norse kjǫlr, itself from Proto-Germanic *keluz, of uncertain origin. Displaced Old English ċēol from a related root. Distantly related to kile.
To collapse, to fall.
He keeled over after having a stroke.
To traverse with a keel; to navigate.
To turn up the keel; to show the bottom.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English kele, from Old Norse kjǫlr, itself from Proto-Germanic *keluz, of uncertain origin. Displaced Old English ċēol from a related root. Distantly related to kile.
To cool; make cool; to cool by stirring or skimming in order to keep from boiling over.
To moderate the ardour or intensity of; assuage; to appease, pacify, or lessen.
To become cool; cool down.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English kelen, from Old English cēlan (“to cool, to make or become cool”), from Proto-West Germanic *kōlijan, from Proto-Germanic *kōlijaną (“to cool”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian käile, köile (“to cool”), Dutch koelen (“to cool”), German Low German köhlen (“to cool”), German kühlen (“to cool”), Danish køle (“to cool”), Icelandic kæla (“to cool”).
A broad, flat vessel used for cooling liquids; a brewer's cooling vat; a keelfat.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English kelen, from Old English cēlan (“to cool, to make or become cool”), from Proto-West Germanic *kōlijan, from Proto-Germanic *kōlijaną (“to cool”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian käile, köile (“to cool”), Dutch koelen (“to cool”), German Low German köhlen (“to cool”), German kühlen (“to cool”), Danish køle (“to cool”), Icelandic kæla (“to cool”).
Red chalk; ruddle.
Where this word comes from
Probably from Scottish Gaelic cìl (“ruddle”).
To mark with ruddle.
Where this word comes from
Probably from Scottish Gaelic cìl (“ruddle”).
Pronunciation spelling of kill.
Where this word comes from
Compare Scots kele, keil, keill (“to put to death, kill”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.